MISSING SPRING AND SCREEN

My new-to-me used 2007 Swing, 18,000+ miles---- It's obvious that the previous owner(s) do not have the pride of ownership or penchant for detail that I guess I must have. Lots of scratches & dings, low tire pressure, nearly bald tires, etc. I was visually aware of the tread bare tires, so that was no surprise. But the biggy is---- very dirty oil (I did the oil & fillter change today), but when I removed the drain plug I discovered that there was no screen and spring as shown in the owners manual, just the plug and O ring. Are the missing items important (if not critical), can I wait 'till the next oil change to install replacements, or should I do it ASAP? I fully understand the importance of clean oil and filter, but know absolutely nothing about this filter screen. Thanks for your input.

If it were mine I'd get the parts, drain the oil into a clean container, install the screen and spring, put the plug back in and pour the oil back into the engine. I'd leave the oil filter as is. I can see no good coming from waiting for the next change. It could be you might find out the hard way why that screen is there in the first place.

Some Honda scooters use this screen as the only means to filter the
oil.This screen is a carry over to the Silverwing and is used in case the oil filter clogs up and the by-pass valve is activated routing the oil through the screen so the oil will still be filtered some what. From
what you said I would say the screen is a necessity in your case.. Howard

Yes the screen is relatively important. The oil passes through it continuously while the engine is running making it a part of the filtering process. If it were mine I would get a new screen and spring and install it asap. While doing this I'd be tempted to put fresh oil back in due to the fact that the original oil was so dirty, that way you'd be getting more of the old crud out. Oil is cheap, engines are not.

Get the right Honda parts.....BUT is the screen really important with spin on Filter?

john grinsel wrote:

Get the right Honda parts.....BUT is the screen really important with spin on Filter?

I don't think the screen will be on the shelf at walmart or at a yamaha dealer!!! 
I guess [edit] the Honda engineering department thinks the part is important, they designed it, so we better abide by their rules   .

I order Honda OEM parts like that from Motogrid.com. They have good prices and usually ship quickly.

Local dealer has the screen but not the spring, had to order it. I'm going to replace the O ring also. Should have all the parts by middle/latter part of next week. Guess I will put in another fresh supply of oil, using this first one to kind of flush out the old nasty residue. The engine sounds OK to me, but I'm not experienced with this engine. I'm going to leave the filter (that I just installed) on. I'll probably change oil & filter again in a couple thousand miles.

k

I would ride your bike until you get the spring in to help flush the old oil. Because you mentioned that your oil was very dirty, I would use clean oil and a new filter. You might think of servicing the brake fluids and check the brake pads for wear. Check the air filter also. Basically do a complete service. Doing these services will give you a better understanding of how your bike works. At 18,000 miles, I would replace the drive belt and keep the old belt as a spare. Anyway **** HAVE FUN!!! ****

When I bought my Goldwing used, I got it home and the oil looked disgusting! Looked way over for a change. Went to local auto parts and bought a gallon of diesel oil (15W-40) and a cheap oil filter; both on sale. I ran this for about 1000 miles then changed oil and put in the good stuff. Basically used it as a flush. That was over 15K ago and oil still looks great and no wear or burning.

All that to say yes run some miles on it and flush it and put new oil/filter in with screen and spring of course! Good luck.

Way back when, before multi viscosity oils came out my father used to flush the engine out about every forth oil change with a gallon of diesel fuel. He'd rev the engine for a few minutes, not really racing it but just enough rpms to circulate the diesel fuel. Then he'd drain it and put in new oil and filter. One mechanic told him he had the cleanest engine he'd seen in years when he had to bring it in for some kind of service that he couldn't do at home.

I wouldn't use diesel as an engine flush. It has very low viscosity and really doesn't provide much protection to bearings. It would be one thing to do a very short run in neutral at low rpms which I still wouldn't recommend but riding the bike with diesel in the crankcase is asking for accelerated wear on most of the moving parts.
A good flush would be to use normal engine oil with an additive such as Sea Foam or Marvel Mystery oil. These both are based on Naptha which is a solvent that's compatible with lubricating oils. They will also reduce the viscosity of the engine oil but not dangerously so if used according to the instructions on the bottle.
Personally when I feel the need to flush out an engine that has contaminated oil I just use normal lubricating oil for that engine. I used to have a shop where I refurbished Oldwings (older Goldwings) for resale. Several of the neglected GWs I bought needed serious cleaning. Using Sea Foam and normal lube oil worked quite well to get out the gunk.

GHM-PM wrote:

 Went to local auto parts and bought a gallon of diesel oil (15W-40) and a cheap oil filter; both on sale.

exavid wrote:

I wouldn't use diesel as an engine flush. It has very low viscosity and really doesn't provide much protection to bearings.

I don't think he meant diesel fuel oil, rather he used some cheap lubricating oil specced for diesel engines. (He does say it was 15W-40, which I'm sure diesel fuel oil isn't.)

Be careful using anything but oil for the " flush " remember you are going to be loosening up the " crap " that's in there and moving it around. That problem showed up when going from non-detergent oil to our present detergent oil. Me? just change oil and filter use good oil and change it earlier say a thousand miles. As nasty as it may have been the oil in it likely more than not was detergent oil, I know after 8,500 miles it can be pretty dark stuff draining out, why it's dark is because it's doing it's job.

Seadog wrote:

GHM-PM wrote:

 Went to local auto parts and bought a gallon of diesel oil (15W-40) and a cheap oil filter; both on sale.

exavid wrote:

I wouldn't use diesel as an engine flush. It has very low viscosity and really doesn't provide much protection to bearings.

I don't think he meant diesel fuel oil, rather he used some cheap lubricating oil specced for diesel engines. (He does say it was 15W-40, which I'm sure diesel fuel oil isn't.)

Exactly! It was a jug of 15w-40 diesel "approved" oil. Don't remember the brand but was cheap (like 11 bucks a gallon). Not Delo or Rotella but like that.

For peace of mind do what you said...replace the oil with new clean oil when you get the parts. Did you also change the Final Drive Oil as well? I have a pictorial on this site that shows how to change the Final Drive Oil with only an open end wrench and no tupperware removal. It only takes approx 10 oz. If the engine oil was dirty the final drive is probably dirty and low.